Algerian baked chickpea flour custard (Karantika)

1. Whisk the chickpea flour with the water, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl until smooth and rest for at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 220 °C and heat a 30x20 cm baking tin with a little oil in it for 5 minutes.

3. Stir the batter again (it will be thin, runnier than pancake batter, which is correct) and pour into the hot tin.

4. Beat the egg and brush or drizzle it over the top so it gets a nice golden crust.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is browned and the inside stays creamy and soft.

6. Cut into squares, sprinkle with cumin and serve hot with harissa, even in a baguette.

Tip: Karantika (calentica in Oran, from the Spanish caliente, hot) is the cheap, warm snack of Algerian streets, sold as a sandwich with cumin and harissa. Resting is important, as the flour absorbs the water. It's crisp at the edges and soft in the middle, and that's what makes it good.